Electric metal workjng



BEST AVAlLABLE COP E. THOMSON. v ELECTRIC METAL WORKING. Patented Jan. 8,1889.

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V. p BESTAVAILABLECOP" UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

ELlHlji THOMSON, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC M'ETAL WORKING.

spscmxoa'non forming al-tor Letters Patent No. 396,014, dated January 8, 1889.

Application tiled Ootober a, less.

1'0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Emnu 'inomson, n citizen of the United States, arid a resident of Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of -ltriaasachusetts, have invented a certain new sists in the novel art, method, or process, hereinafter described, of heating the metal rod, bar, or piece by an electric current of large volume or heating e'fl'ect, and then, either during or after the heating and while the piece is hot, cutting or drawing or pulling the hot metal tose mrate the piece or to locally di- Sources of electricity suitable for the purposes of my invention are described in my prior patents on electric welding, &c., Nos. 347,140, 347,141, and 347,142.

Suitable clamps or holders are employed for holding the pieces while they are subjected to the heating and separating and reducing operations.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1' is a front elevation, and Fig. 2 a side elevation, of an apparatus suitable for use in dividing metal pieces after the manner of --my invention. Fig. 3 is an example of work performed by such apparatus. Fig. 4 is a side view of an apparatus suitable for use in dividing or separating metal pieces by the elect ric heatin g and drawing or pullingpperatiou. Figs. 5, t3, and 7 are examples otiivork' done by said apparatus. Fig. 8' illustrates a modification in the process of dividing a piece of metal according to my, invention, and Fig. 9 shows the piece divided by suchmuxliiicd prm ess.

Referring to Figsfil and 2, (2 (3' indicate suitable condnoting-clamps, of any desired form or shape, mounted upon a proper table or support, 1, and adapted to hold the bar, rod, or piece 'B B to be operated upon. The clamps C (7' are suitably insulated from one another and are connected by cables or con- 8orlal 1ilo.287,601.' on model.

due-tors K K of large size with the source of heavy currents. The clamps may, if desired, be made adjustable to and from one another to vary theiength of the piece subjected to the heating operation. By means of the cables K K,conneeicd with the source-for instance such as that described in my Patent No. 385,38li-heavy currents are passed through the piece between the clamps until the same is heated, say, to redness in the case of iron andsteel, or to a less mmpcrature for some other metals. -\\'hen so heated, the revolving cutter S is brought against the bar or .piece at or near its middle portion to separate the same. operated in any desired manner.

The cutter S may be mounted and It is here shown as supported in a frame, E, centered on the main driving-shaft X, and provided with a suitable handle, ll. should be shut off before the completion of the cut, whicluwith iron and steel at abrigbtred heat, is very quickly RCCOll'llliiSilGt].

The current.

Fig. 3 shows the piece 13 B severed intotwo pieces, B l3',the line of the cut or separation bciugsmooth and the form of the bar at the point of severance. being preserved.

In Fig. 4 the clamps t mount-ed on a suitable support, are properly insulated from one another, and one of them -as, for instance, .may be piilled or drawn away from the other-by the operation of a screw, S, having an operating-handle, ll. ln using this device the bar B ii is clamped iirmlyand heated by the current passed from clamp to clamp until it assumes a more or less plastic condition, when the clamps are-drawn apart, thus thinning the bar or piece at. the heated portion up to even the point of rupture. In the case of iron and steel which become plastic the metal may be drawn to a point, as indice-ted in Fig. 5, and ii' the heat be still more localized, as may be done by starting the operation with the clamps nearer together, the drawing or pulling action, when quickly performed, wi-ll resultiu theprmluetion of pieces like those shown in Fig. (i. if a piece be heated to a very high temperature, nearer fusing, and then the tension or pulling force be applied, the piece will separate or divide into the form such as shown in Fig. 7, drawing out very little. This action is also the result in the case of metal'sgor alloys which do not assume a pasty or tenacious condition before melting.

If it be desired to sever or out a bar or piece squarely by pulling or drawing it apart, it is well to nick the bar or piece by meansof dies D D, Fig. 8, forced against it while cold or when hot, after which the sudden application of heating-current and tension will divide the bar .at-the nicked point, producing two pieces; asshown in Fig. 9.

\Vith my invention the cutting oil. or reducing of stock-such as iron orsteelbars-anay' be rapidly performed, and various forms of ends or sections where reduced or cut- 06 may be readily obtained.

\Vhat I claim as my inventionis- 1. The hereinbefore-described method of reducing or separating metal rods, bars, or pleces, consisting in heating thesame by an electric current of large volume and then applying a suitable force to separate the metal or to extend the same at the heated section.

2. The herein-described novel art of cutting off or reducing the section of bars or rods, consisting in heating the bar or rod electrically at the point of division or reduction and then applying the proper separating or deducing power or force, as and for the purpose described.

Signed at Lynn, in the count-yet Essex and State of Massachusetts, this QGt-h-day of Sep- 

